ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author wants to put across is that these patients should be understood as part of different stages of personality development. These patients do not always respond to psychotherapy: as a matter of fact, only a few do, and they need to be adequately diagnosed. Adolescence is a particularly difficult stage when many of us feel inadequate, de-skilled, and misunderstood. The actions are devoid of professionalism, and they feel deskilled. Explosive inner feelings and bodily changes occur at such speed that confusion sets in. A feeling of frustration emerges, and some emptiness comes to the fore. The sense of excitement accompanying the acting out is no longer present but has been replaced by plain fear. The "mini-kit survival" that has so far been used effectively against the black depression is no longer functioning. Deception and self-deception are the key features of this condition, rarely mentioned in any description of personality disorder.
